characteristic

英[kærəktə'rɪstɪk] 美[,kærəktə'rɪstɪk]

1. a prominent aspect of something;

"the map showed roads and other features"

"generosity is one of his best characteristics"

2. a distinguishing quality

3. the integer part (positive or negative) of the representation of a logarithm; in the expression log 643 = 2.808 the characteristic is 2

4. any measurable property of a device measured under closely specified conditions